The mission of the Pest Management and Biocontrol Research Unit is to develop innovative and improved biological, behavioral, cultural, and genetic based methods to reduce losses by insects and mites affecting crops in arid-land regions of the U.S. The goals are economically, socially and environmentally acceptable pest population suppression technologies based on the use of behavioral chemicals, genetics, cultural practices, biological control, sampling and decision aids, modeling and population dynamics of pests and their natural enemies. Emphasis is placed on development of fully integrated, ecologically-based management strategies in a changing agricultural environment that includes recognition of the agriculture-urban interface.

The mission of the Plant Physiology and Genetic Research Unit is to increase the productivity, profitability and sustainability of agriculture in arid environments by developing new germplasm for both traditional and alternative crops and by improving plant responses to abiotic stresses and to changes in the global environment.

Irrigated agriculture is the major user of water in the western United States. While water is considered a renewable resource, it is often in short supply or of poor quality. Increasing demands are being made on limited water supplies by agriculture, cities, and industries. Thus, the objectives of the Water Management and Conservation Research Unit are to develop management strategies and physical hardware needed to attain the most efficient use of irrigation water, to protect groundwater in areas where agricultural practices would have the potential for degrading water quality, and to reuse wastewater.